Short Audio Essays on Lean Thinking, Leadership, and Continuous Improvement
Lean Blog Audio features short audio versions of articles from LeanBlog.org, written, read, and expanded by Mark Graban. Each episode explores practical applications of Lean thinking, psychological safety, continuous improvement, and performance measurement tools like Process Behavior Charts.
Drawing on real-world examples from healthcare, manufacturing, startups, and other complex systems, the podcast focuses on leadership behaviors that foster learning, reduce fear and blame, and support sustainable improvement. Lean Blog Audio is ideal for leaders, practitioners, and learners who want thoughtful insights they can apply every day.
Streaming Player:
Ways to Subscribe or Follow
Tesla builds cars in what used to be the NUMMI factory, a joint venture between Toyota and GM (which meant it was run as a Toyota plant with “Lean”…
There are things about Lean you cannot learn from a book, a conference, or a consultant. I say that as someone who writes the books and gives the…
Here's something I've learned over many years of consulting: giving people advice they haven't asked for is a reliable way to get ignored, no matter…
TL;DR: A sound check, live song requests, and a naming regret — what watching Brandi Carlile perform taught me about specific problem-solving…
TL;DR: Deming and Toyota's Fujio Cho asked the same uncomfortable question: why do management systems destroy motivation in people who started out…
TL;DR: In a 1993 speech, Toyota leader Fujio Cho said organizations can create their own Lean systems, but success depends on three principles:…
TL;DR: I turned my Lean Hospitals book into an interactive coaching tool leaders can use during real work — exploring whether improvement…
TL;DR: GE Aerospace's annual report treats safety not as a compliance topic or a communications slogan, but as a core leadership responsibility. By…
TL;DR: Larry Culp's GE Aerospace CEO letter is a rare example of Lean leadership in practice, showing how safety, Respect for People, and small…
TL;DR: In 1987, GM accurately documented why NUMMI worked–and it wasn't tools, techniques, or discipline. This internal report reveals a…
The Real Lesson from Japan Wasn't Tools — It Was Trust and Listening TL;DR: When a group of Ford and UAW leaders traveled to Japan in 1981, they…
I'm looking forward to facilitating a workshop at Shingo Connect: USA 2026 in San Diego titled “Psychological Safety as a Foundation for…
TL;DR Twenty years later, Jeffrey Liker's message still applies: Lean fails when it's treated as a set of tools instead of a leadership system…
A 2005 tour of the NUMMI plant revealed lessons about Lean that had little to do with tools and everything to do with leadership, learning, and…
Last year, my friend (and long-time fellow blogger) Tim McMahon from the A Lean Journey blog sent me a set of questions he's asked various Lean…
When we think about how change happens in organizations, especially those practicing Lean, we often focus on tools, plans, and communication…
tl;dr: Lean fails when organizations cherry-pick tools like 5S, pull, or heijunka without adopting Lean as a complete management system. Sustainable…
What Pickleball Taught Me About Kindness, Kaizen, and Culture “Don't worry about your mistakes–you're learning.” That's what an…
TL;DR: AI can support Kaizen when it's treated as a thought partner, not an answer engine. The right way to explore AI in continuous improvement is…
TL;DR Larry Culp, CEO of GE Aerospace, shows that Lean leadership isn't about tools or slogans–it's about daily behaviors. By grounding Lean in…
TL;DR: If Lean improvements put jobs at risk, people will stop improving. Organizations that commit to “no layoffs due to Lean” create…
tl;dr: Halloween might be about ghosts, zombies, and monsters — but those same creatures sometimes show up in our organizations all year long…
In Lean circles, we talk a lot about leadership commitment. But it's not every day that a CEO puts their hair on the line to show it. As we wrote…
TL;DR Leader Standard Work isn't a calendar or a checklist. It's the daily responsibility of leaders to show up with the right…
TL;DR: This look back at Allina Health shows how continuous improvement at the bedside actually works: frontline staff identifying real problems…
